Worlds Apart
by 19-RmK-95
Summary: Tia has a well-off life but when she meets Rocket, she realizes just how well-off she is. But when she moves, things change. When she returns, she tries to reconnect with Rocket but many things get in the way, including the law...
1. Chapter 1

The sun shone through a pair of huge bay windows to reveal a 7 year old girl with waist-length blonde hair with her hands and face pressed against the glass "I wonder what it's like out there…." she murmured, gazing in wonder at the open field and dark forest beyond; her thoughts were interrupted by her mum calling her name "Tia sweetheart, it's time for lunch!!" Tia rolled her eyes "ok mum I'm coming!!" she stood up, taking one last longing look at the world outside before turning and walking in the direction of the dining room.

While her parents chatted, Tia merely sat and fiddled with her food; only halfway through the meal did she pluck up the courage to speak "Mum?" She asked, her mum turned to her "yes?"

"Can I go out and play after lunch?" her mum gave her a confused look "of course, you've always been allowed to play in the garden!" Tia shook her head "no, not in the garden, in the fields" Her mum's eyes widened and was about to protest when her father cut in "I don't see anything wrong with that, after all it's only across the road, and I'm sure she'll behave herself, won't you Tia?" Tia nodded enthusiastically "yes, yes! Of course dad!" She turned back to her mum "pleeaase??" Her mum sighed "ok fine, you can go" Tia beamed "but only if you eat all of your vegetables!" Tia's smile faded "Aww! Do I have to???"

Finally, after what seemed hours, dinner was finished; Tia sprinted off down the garden path and across the road "remember!" Her mum called "you have to be back in exactly one hour!"

"Don't worry I will!" Tia shouted back, and then she scrambled over the gate and landed in the knee-length grass beyond.

Tia ran around for a while, skipping and tumbling in the long grass, then she noticed a small path winding its way down a slope; she wandered along this path daydreaming, until she walked into something solid "oof!" She exclaimed, taking a step back to realise that she had walked into a tree, she looked around and saw that she had reached the edge of the forest. Tia stood there for a second before glancing back towards her house, the front door was shut and nobody was in sight "well, there's no harm in just having a little look" she muttered "and as long I'm back in time, no one will know..." And with that, she sidled around the tree and into the forest beyond.

As she walked, Tia stared in awe at the wonderfully green world surrounding her; every turn was greeted with new sights and smells "it's beautiful" She whispered, almost scared to break the hushed silence. Then she froze and listened hard, there it was again! A splashing sound was coming from somewhere ahead! Slowly she crept forward, eventually finding herself at the edge of a lake.

It was quite a small lake, hills rose up on every side and rocks stuck out at intervals along the bank; and, sitting on one of these rocks, skimming pebbles across the lakes surface, was a young boy. He looked about the same age as Tia, but he had dark skin and shortish brown hair that stuck up at every angle; Tia grinned "finally, someone to play with!" she thought, then she stood up and shouted across "hi there!" The boy sat bolt upright, staring at her like a deer caught in the headlamps, then he leapt up and ran off up the hill behind him "hey, come back! I only wanted to play!" but the boy ignored her and carried on running, so she decided to pursue him; she skidded and slid along the ground and carefully made her way up the hillside, just in time to see the boy vanish into the mouth of a small cave. "I didn't mean to scare you! I only wanted to make friends!"

"I don't like making friends!" muttered the boy from inside the cave "why not?"

"Why should I tell you?" Tia hesitated "no reason, it's just a little strange that you don't like making friends…"

"Oh, and I suppose that you have loads of friends don't you?" the boy replied irritably, Tia lowered her eyes and shook her head sadly "no I don't, I live alone with just my mum and dad…" A tear slid down her cheek "I never have the chance to make friends"

"You're lucky; at least you still have parents!" Tia's eyes widened in shock "you mean you don't have parents? But everyone has parents!!"

"Well I don't!!" The boy shouted angrily "now stop pestering me and go away!!!"

"But-"

"I said, GO AWAY!!!" Tia was taken aback, but didn't make any attempt to leave; instead she took a step towards the cave entrance. The boy heard her footsteps and poked his head out of the door, only to come face to face with Tia; he jumped back in shock "h-hey, didn't you hear me? I said go away!!"

"And I said I only wanted to make friends!!" The boy glared at her for a second before asking "can I ask why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to make friends with me?" Tia shrugged "I don't know...you just seemed, different"

"Different? What do you mean, different?"

"I don't really know, I just saw you and thought that there was something about you that made you stand out..." The boy stared at her, and then spoke "Really?"

"Really" He blinked in apparent shock, Tia saw this and laughed "what's the matter? Don't tell me you don't like being complemented too??" He shook his head "no, no it's just...."

"Just what?"

"It's just that I've never been told something like that before" Tia gave him a funny look "are you serious?" he nodded "since I was born I've always been treated like a nobody..." He looked at his feet and sniffed, then he glanced up sharply to find Tia had grasped his hand, he was about to pull his hand away when something in her eyes made him stop "don't worry" she said "you won't be a nobody any more" When he heard this, the boy's mouth stretched into a small smile "thanks" he murmured.

Tia grinned, and then spoke once more "you know, I don't believe we know each other's names, I'm Tia" The boy returned the grin "I'm Rocket"

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Rocket!" Tia replied happily, "likewise" said Rocket.

Little did either of them know that in years to come would change their lives, forever....


	2. Chapter 2

Tia sat tapping her foot impatiently; earlier she had asked her parents if she could go and play in the fields again, but they had told her that she would have to wait until 6:00pm before she could go. Now she was staring at the clock, practically counting the seconds as they passed, as soon as the clock struck 6:00 she was out the door and across the road before her parents had a chance to tell her otherwise.

As she approached Rocket's cave, Tia began to slow down "what if he doesn't want to see me?" She thought "he might be busy or-"

"Tia?" A voice called from behind her, she spun around to find Rocket standing there holding a pile of firewood, "didn't expect to see you here again" he said, she stared at him "really?" He shrugged "well to be honest I-" He looked down at his feet "I didn't think you even existed..." Tia gazed at him in confusion "What do you mean?"

"I thought you were just a dream, I've never had a friend before, and for one to come along so suddenly was too good to be true..." he looked away "I-I'm sorry..." Tia walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder "there's nothing to be sorry about, really" He smiled "thanks, I felt a bit stupid for a moment there" Tia smiled beck, then noticed the pile of logs in his arms "do you want me to help you with that?" she asked. Rocket looked at her "well, if you don't mind-" but before he had finished his sentence, Tia had reached over and grabbed an armful; she staggered slightly under the unexpected weight, but thankfully regained her balance, she turned to him grinning "so, where do you want me to put them?" Rocket jerked his head in the direction of the cave "In here, follow me" and with that he walked off into the cave with Tia right behind him.

At first all Tia could see was blackness, but as her eyes adjusted she was shocked by what she saw. Rocket's 'home' consisted of a pile of blankets, a broken mattress and a small fire-pit, Tia gasped "do you really live here?" Rocket nodded "yes, this is my home..."  
"Wow..." Tia stood there for a while, blinking in shock and was only snapped out of it when Rocket cleared his throat loudly; she jumped "could you put the wood down over here please?" she looked round at him "oh, yeah of course! Sorry!" she walked over to where he was standing and carefully placed the logs in the pit while Rocket went over to the back of the cave, he returned a few minutes later with two flints in his hands; as Tia took a few steps back he began to strike one flint against the other, only after a few tries did he finally get a fire going. He then picked up a rusty pan that had been lying on the floor and placed it over the flames, after that he opened a bag that he'd had strapped to his back and took out a small dead fish which he placed in the pan; Tia wrinkled he nose at the smell, then said "you know, we've got lots of food in my house, I'm sure I could get some for you..." Rocket glanced up sharply "I don't think that's a good idea, you could get in trouble" Tia rolled her eyes "oh come on! It'll only be a few things; my parents won't even notice anything's gone!" She got up "you wait here, I'll be back in a matter of minutes!" she spun on her heel and ran out of the cave.

Tia opened the front door as quietly as she could, she stopped as soon as she was inside and listened intently; the house was silent, then she heard her dad laughing "sounds like they're in the garden" she muttered to herself and sure enough, they were. After making perfectly sure that her parents had no intention of returning indoors, Tia crept into the kitchen, stopping to grab a large rucksack from the cupboard under the stairs. Quickly she opened the fridge and began to grab anything that looked tasty; next she went to the cupboards and did the same thing, now the rucksack was almost full. Just as Tia was about to leave something caught her eye, it was a set of pots and pans that her mum had been meaning to get rid of for ages "that means she won't mind if I 'get rid' of them for her" Tia thought as she began to place them in the rucksack.

But as she was putting the last one in, it slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor with a resounding clatter, then "Tia is that you?" Tia froze "Tia? Are you there sweetheart?" Then Tia shook herself out of the trance she was in, grabbed the rucksack and the saucepan and bolted for the front door. She sprinted along the garden path, across the road and only just managed to clamber over the gate and into the long grass before she heard her mum calling. Slowly she peered above the grass to see her mum standing in the doorway, she stood there for a while, looking about her and calling, finally she turned round and closed the door behind her. Tia breathed out a sigh of relief "that was close" she muttered.

Rocket looked up from the fire when Tia staggered in, his eyes widened when he saw the size of the rucksack she was carrying and immediately sprang up and ran over to her "here, let me help you" he said, gently lifting the heavy bag from her shoulders despite her protests. His eyes grew even wider when he opened the bag and saw what lay within "Wow Tia! There's loads of stuff in here!" Tia smiled "see? What did I tell you?" He continued to stare in wonder at the feast "well, what are you waiting for?" Rocket didn't hesitate a moment longer, he pulled out a pie and began to devour it, then he stopped and got another one out of the bag which he handed to Tia "here, you deserve it" Tia was about to refuse but her stomach growled loudly "ok maybe just one.." she mumbled.

Hours later, both Tia and Rocket were sitting on one of the rocks that looked out over the lake, watching the sun casting amber rays across the water "it's beautiful..." Tia whispered. Rocket smiled slightly then reached behind him and picked up one of the small flat stones that littered the hillside, he took aim and threw the stone, it skimmed three times across the waters surface before sinking. Tia stared after it "how did you do that?" Rocket scratched the back of his neck "well-"  
"Can I have a go?"  
"Sure, here" Rocket picked up another stone and gave it to her. She copied Rocket's movements exactly but the stone hit the water with a huge splash and sank, Rocket grinned and gave her another "here try again" she did, but once again the stone sank. A few tries later and Tia was getting frustrated "I can't do it!" she cried, angrily chucking another stone into the water. Rocket grabbed another stone and placed it in her palm "there's no need to get wound up, it's easy look I'll show you" he then pulled her arm back slowly, adjusting the angle of her hand "and now you just throw" he pushed her hand forward, she let go and the stone skimmed six times across the water, Tia beamed "I did it!" Rocket looked at her and laughed "I told you it was easy!" Tia looked at him grinning, then glanced down at their hands "Rocket?"  
"Yeah?"  
"You can let go of my hand now..." Rocket immediately pulled his hand away blushing furiously "I-I'm sorry..." Tia gave him a funny look "you're a strange person, you know that?"  
"Is that a good thing?" he asked nervously "of course it is! What did you think I meant?"  
"well I-nothing forget it..." Tia shrugged and turned to look back across the lake, then she got up "It's getting late, I should be going now-" But Rocket grabbed her wrist "no, stay, please"  
"But I have to go, my parents will be worried"

"at least stay until the sun sets..." Tia rolled her eyes "fine"  
Rocket smiled "thank you" she just gave him another funny look before sitting back down. A few seconds later, Rocket slowly and carefully placed him hand on top of Tia's as they watched the sun drop behind the horizon...


	3. Chapter 3

The next week was like a dream for both Rocket and Tia. Rocket was happy just to have someone there; a friend. He had never had a friend like Tia before. Tia was also happy to have a friend like Rocket. Every morning she would jump out of bed; quickly eat her breakfast before running out the door to meet Rocket at his cave. Rocket was always there patiently waiting. He was always shy when she first arrived but soon that shyness turned into boldness, something he had never experienced before. That boldness came clearly into sight one day as they were both sitting on their rock overlooking the lake as the blazing sun shone down on them but the breeze kept them cool. Rocket didn't like the sun but Tia loved it so Rocket obliged to going outside with her, despite desperately wanting to stay in his cave but he wasn't prepared to that without her. So he went with her and at the moment, they were silent but that all changed when Rocket finally broke the silence.

"Tia," he said and she turned to find Rocket's face not too far from hers before he gently leaned in and placed a small kiss on her cheek. Tia smiled at these actions, knowing it was only in a friendly way and that it meant nothing more than him being polite to her as a friend. They were both too young to get what true love was so right now, they were focused on their friendship. Rocket was relieved to see a small smile on Tia's face as he backed away and he smiled back at her. However, she soon started biting on her bottom lip but before Rocket could ask what was wrong, she leaned forward and for only a split second, kissed Rocket's lips making his eyes go a wide as saucers before she quickly backed away, noting that the two of them were holding their breath in shock at Tia's sudden actions. Tia looked at Rocket with uncertainty before he smiled at her for reassurance that he was cool with it, she only meant it in a friendly way after all, and she smiled back at him.

"Tia, can you promise you'll never leave me? That you'll always be my friend?" he asked nervously and she nodded joyfully. "Promise," she said happily and Rocket smiled at her to which she smiled back. Maybe they were too young to know what love felt like but they knew what friendship was, even if neither of them had ever really felt it. Being with each other just felt right. Despite that, Tia keeping her promise to Rocket was going to be a lot harder than they both could've ever imagined…

The next day Tia woke to the sounds of hurried voices and the movement of heavy objects. She hurried down the stairs and almost went flying over a large suitcase at the bottom of the staircase. She staggered to her feet and tried to regain her balance, just then her mum came out of the kitchen and noticed her standing there "Tia!" she exclaimed in surprise "what are you doing up this early?"

Tia looked up at her "noises woke me up" she said while looking around "mum, what's going on? Why are there suitcases everywhere?"

Her mum looked at her thoughtfully for a few minutes before answering "Well Tia, your father has been offered a new assignment..." Tia beamed "really? That's great! Where?"

"Well, that's why we're packing; it's a very long way away"

"But why are there so many bags? I didn't think dad needed to take this much stuff!"

Her mum sighed "well, that's because you and I are going with him"

"What?"

"I know sweetie but it's for the best" Tia was about to protest when a thought occurred to her "How long are we going for mum?" she asked. Her mum thought carefully before answering "hmmm...Not very long I think...the assignment's pretty short so it should only take about a month or so"

Tia pondered this statement _'a month? That's not very long at all!'_ she thought to herself '_now all I have to do is tell Rocket..._' She turned back to her mum "ummm...when do we go?" She asked worriedly. Her mum looked at her and smiled "we're not leaving until this evening so you have plenty of time to go out and play, don't worry!"

Tia grinned at her "Yay! Can I go out now?" her mum nodded "yes of course! I'll call for you when it's time to come back though so listen out for me!"

"I will!" Tia exclaimed happily spinning around and heading out the already open door.

Rocket glanced up sharply as her heard approaching footsteps but relaxed and smiled when he saw who it was "Tia!" he exclaimed happily, getting up and running over to her. She smiled back at him "hey!" Rocket grinned before remembering something, he reached over and grabbed her wrist "come on, I've got something to show you!" Tia looked at him "really? What is it?" but Rocket just shook his head "I can't tell you; that would ruin the surprise!" and with that he began dragging her deeper into his cave...

Finally after hours of walking in absolute darkness Rocket stopped suddenly making Tia almost crash into his back. But before she could say anything Rocket spoke "here we are" he said, stepping aside so that Tia could see.

Her mouth nearly hit the floor at the sight she saw in front of her.

It was a cave, but nothing like the one that Rocket lived in; a turquoise waterfall came gushing down from a crevice high up on the wall and into a small pool below. The ceiling was dotted with hundreds of tiny little holes which made the sunlight hit the water in a mosaic of blues and greens.

Rocket smiled as he watched Tia gaze at the sight in awe, then he spoke "you like it then?" he asked, making her jump. She looked round at him and nodded slowly "It's amazing!" She exclaimed "How did you find it?"

Rocket shrugged "I was exploring a few years back and stumbled upon it..." he drifted off "...since then...it's been my thinking place..."

Tia glanced at him "really?"

"Yeah..." Both of them stood there in silence...

A while later, both Tia and Rocket were sitting at the edge of the pool, enjoying the feeling of the cool water lapping at their bare toes. Suddenly Tia noticed something shimmering at the bottom of the pool "what's that?" she asked, leaning forward a little to get a better look. Suddenly she felt the rock beginning to slide from beneath her and 'SPLASH!' She landed head first into the water.

Rocket jumped to his feet in alarm "Tia? Tia are you alright?" for a few minutes there was nothing, the water remained still; then Tia's head popped out of the water coughing and spluttering. "I'm *cough* fine*cough*" she spluttered out while pushing her dripping wet hair away from her face.

Then Rocket couldn't help himself, seeing her bedraggled and dripping wet with hair all over the place made him burst out laughing. Tia looked up at the sound and glared, irritated by his mocking laughter; the laughter stopped however when Tia reached up and grabbed one of Rockets legs.

"Tia! Wait! No-" 'SPLASH!'

Rocket rose to the surface to the sound of triumphant giggling. He turned round to see Tia gazing at him smugly; he narrowed his eyes "I'll get you for that!" he exclaimed playfully, gathering water in his hands and tried to throw it in her direction. Tia squealed and tried to move out of the way but slipped and once more found herself drenched.

For what seemed like ages the two of them messed about in the pool, splashing and laughing at each others antics. But soon the light began to dim and both of them dragged themselves out of the water, then lay on the floor laughing.

Suddenly Tia remembered the reason she had come down to visit in the first place and sat up. "Rocket" she said nervously, and Rocket, sensing that there was something wrong, sat up too. "What is it?" he asked equally nervously, if not more so.

Tia sighed "well, you see Rocket...my father has been given a new assignment that's very far away, meaning he would have to move away..." Rocket leant towards her "I'm sorry...I know you'll miss him-" but Tia cut him off "no Rocket, that's not the problem. The thing is... mum and I have to go too..." she glanced up to see Rocket's shocked expression, then he spoke.

"No, you can't leave, you promised!" Tia held up a hand "Rocket, listen, it won't be forever! I'll be back in about a month!"

Rocket swallowed "really? Are you sure?"

"I promise"

Rocket sniffed loudly before reaching forward and pulling her into a tight hug. Tia was shocked at Rocket's sudden display of affection, but soon relaxed and wrapped her arms around him while he buried his head into her shoulder. "I'll miss you" he mumbled with his head still against her shoulder. Tia smiled slightly "I know, and I'll miss you too...but it won't be forever! I'll be back soon, promise." Rocket pulled back and stood up "well, I guess I should take you back.."

As they reached the mouth of Rocket's cave, Rocket grabbed Tia's wrist "look, you will come back, won't you?" Tia rolled her eyes "yes Rocket, I'll be back in a month or so, don't worry!" Rocket looked at her "so I guess this is goodbye for now..." Tia nodded "yes, goodbye Rocket" she said while hugging him once more, then turned and hurried off down the hill. "Goodbye Rocket!" she shouted behind her "See you in a month!"

But little did she know, the next time she would see him, things would be very different indeed...


	4. Chapter 4

**12 years later...**

A nineteen year old Tia sat in the back of her parent's car fidgeting "how long til we're back?" She asked excitedly. Her mum turned around to look at her and rolled her eyes "in about ten more minutes Tia, honestly! You're nineteen not nine!" Tia grinned sheepishly "sorry mum, it's just that it's been so long! I can't wait to be back!" her mum smiled "I know dear, me too."

As soon as the car had pulled into the long gravel driveway and came to a stop, Tia practically threw open the car door and leapt out; sprinting towards the front door. "Hang on kiddo!" her dad exclaimed "I'm the one with the keys here!" Tia spun round and came running back to the car "come on dad! Hurry up!" she said. Her dad grinned before deliberately getting out of the car at a much slower pace than usual. Tia folded her arms and rolled her eyes "Dad!"

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" he said, finally getting out of the car and slamming the door. Tia grabbed his arm "ok you're out, let's go!" she exclaimed

"Hang on sweetie, we have to wait for your mum first!" her dad said, laughing as a scowl began to form on his daughter's face. "oh alright then!" he said, tossing the keys to her "here you go!" Tia beamed at her dad before sprinting back to the front door.

As her dad stood and watched, her mum joined him "you know, it's funny" she said "I've never seen her this happy since the day we left here" Tia's dad smiled "yeah, it's like she's seven years old all over again...how did she manage to grow up so fast?" Tia's mum shook her head "I have no idea, I guess it's just the way things are..." Both of them laughed as they began walking towards their daughter who was frantically trying to unlock the door; her dad grinned before calling out "wrong key darling! It's the gold coloured one remember?" Then he burst out laughing at the embarrassed look on his daughter's face.

A small sliver of light shone through the gap between the dark blue bedroom curtains and straight onto Tia's facie. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and immediately squinted at the sudden light. Sighing heavily she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. After a few minutes she sat up and looked about her room in puzzlement; she completed all her unpacking the day before and there were no chores to do, but why was something at the back of her mind nagging her that there was something important she needed to do? "Oh well" she said to herself "maybe it'll come to me over breakfast" and with that she got out of bed and walked out the door.

As she sat at the table digging into a bowl of cereal, her mum walked past and said "look at you, stuffing your face like there's no tomorrow! I wouldn't be surprised if as soon as you'd finished you would be off down the field just like before!"

Tia stopped mid-chew "what?" she asked. Her mum raised an eyebrow "don't talk with your mouth full!" she scolded. Tia swallowed before asking again "sorry mum, but what?"

"Don't you remember? Almost every day you would stuff down your breakfast before running out to the field!" On hearing this something clicked in Tia's brain, she shot up "that's it!" she exclaimed "that's what I was supposed to be doing!" She crammed the last spoonful of cereal into her mouth before sprinting out of the room and up the stairs to get dressed.

A few minutes later Tia was running across the road. She stopped when she reached to gate, which was old now and starting to rust at the hinges, and decided to open it as it didn't look like it would be able to support her weight if she jumped over it. She glanced around her as she closed the gate to see that the surroundings had somewhat changed over the years.

All of the long grass had been cut and now only stood as high as her ankle, some of the field had been dug up and replaced by a small collection of saplings. Many of the larger trees on the edge of the forest had either fallen over of been chopped down and huge logs lay piled on top of one another. Thankfully there was still a large amount of trees beyond that grew thick enough to create an emerald-green canopy. Almost without thinking Tia began to walk towards the forest, treading softly over the grass and edging her way carefully around the log piles. When she reached the edge of the forest she froze, she could hear the sound of splashing. In an instant her face lit up, she knew that sound! She instantly began to sprint in the direction of the sound; as she ran all the memories came flooding back to her: skimming stones, collecting firewood, splashing in the pool, her first kiss...It was all coming back. Then a name came to the front of her mind, and she laughed as the name became clear: Rocket!

That was it! The reason she was here, speeding down the leafy pathway, the wind blowing in her hair. Rocket, her one true friend!

She skidded to a halt a few metres before the trees ended and cautiously peered around one of the broad trunks. Sure enough, as she had thought, there on that very same rock she had seen him on before sat Rocket; but it was not the same Rocket she had met all those years ago. His short, tousled hair had grown long and now hung in long brown dreadlocks; his body looked as if it had matured a lot also as Tia could quite clearly see his muscles under his shirt.

For a few short seconds Tia was taken aback, this Rocket was a lot more taller, stronger and...attractive...? She shook her head, no, she couldn't see him in that light, not at all! So instead of continuing to stare, she took a deep breath before stepping out from behind the trees and making her presence known.

As soon as Rocket sensed someone was there, he sprung up and grabbed a large tree branch which he pointed in her direction "get out!" He exclaimed angrily "I don't care who you are, just get out!"

Tia gave him a shocked look before nervously advancing "don't you recognise me?" she asked. Rocket took a step back "no, should I?" Tia smiled at him before replying "yes, you should. Rocket, it's me...Tia"

"Tia...?" he asked, his eyes widening Tia smiled again "yes, it's me"

Rocket stared at her in shock, then his face hardened and he raised the stick once more "Get. Out" he said between gritted teeth. Tia backed away in confusion "but Rocket, it's me!"

"I know who you are!" he snapped "you left me here!" Tia opened her mouth to speak but Rocket continued "do you know how long I waited for you? Do you? I put my life on hold for weeks, months, years waiting for you to come back! But you never did!"

"B-but...I'm here now...isn't that what matters...?"

Rocket snarled "no! You leave me for years and then just pop out of nowhere and expect everything to be just as it was? Well you're wrong! You're nothing but a liar and a deserter!"

Tia stood there in shocked silence, badly stung by Rocket's words. She sniffed and swallowed as her eyes began to fill with tears.

Rocket stared at her for a moment, and, seeing her in this vulnerable state, all the anger fell away "Tia..." he said softly, taking a step forward "oh Gods, I'm so sorry...I-"

But Tia didn't allow him to finish. She spun around and ran back around the lake, tears pouring down her cheeks. Rocket called after her "Tia, wait! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" But Tia still continued to run, ignoring his shouts. She stumbled out of the trees in a haze of tears and across the field. She pushed the gate roughly open and sprinted across the road.

After making it up the stairs, barely being able to contain her sobs she slammed her bedroom door shut, threw herself down on the bed and began crying afresh "what did I do?" she thought miserably "what did I do to deserve this?" and with this thought circling her head, she tried to escape by slowly drifting off to sleep...

**Well, there it is! (Finally!) Hope it was worth the wait!**

**If you like, please review! Because from now on the more reviews I get, the quicker I update! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh my gosh it's been AGES since I've updated any of my fics! But I have a reason: I've had coursework up to my ears and am now revising for my GCSE's so time is precious! However, in two weeks time I will be completely off of school for almost three whole months! In that time I promise to at least have updated all of my stories at least once!**

**Anyways, enough of my jibber-jabber, read on and enjoy! :D**

By the time Tia had regained consciousness the sun was just starting to drift lower in the sky. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes, _'What do I do now?' _she thought sadly _'it's not as if I could go back there again...' _She sighed before getting up and walking out of her room.

Eventually she made her way to the porch and sat on the old wooden swinging bench that hung there; sighing yet again she stared out in longing at the wooded green home of her childhood friend.

Suddenly a movement caught her eye and she sat bolt upright in surprise for there, hurrying across the field, was Rocket! Tia continued to stare at him in shock, right up until he reached the gate "Tia!" He called, panting heavily, "Tia, please...I want-no, need- to talk to you!"

Tia stood up and folded her arms "oh really?" she asked, her eyes narrowing "back there you made it pretty clear that you didn't want anything to do with me!"

Rocket lowered his eyes "I know, just, hear me out on this one. When you left me on that day I was devastated, the only thing that kept me going was that promise you made me: that you would be coming back soon. So I waited; I waited and waited and waited. Eventually I gave up on you; you'd left me...just like everyone else..." He sighed deeply "but then you suddenly came back completely out of the blue and I was shocked. Then that shock turned to anger...Please, you have to understand..." He raised his eyes to meet hers "please forgive me..."

Tia remained silent for a few seconds as she tried to get her head around exactly what had just happened; then she looked into Rocket's eyes, saw the honesty behind them and finally spoke.

"Rocket, I understand what you mean and I accept the apology...but, to be honest, I think it should be me who should be doing the apologizing. I've finally realized exactly just how much I hurt you for going away for so long, then just waltzing back into your life acting as if nothing had happened. I was stupid and selfish to assume that you would accept me back into your life after so long...I'm sorry."

Rocket blinked then widened his eyes in shock; he was definitely _not _expecting that! "No, don't apologize" he said quickly "It was my fault that I yelled at you, not yours."

"Rocket, I was the one who left you in the first place!" Tia exclaimed, taking a step forward "it was my fault!"

"No, it was mine!" Rocket exclaimed in return, he too taking a step forward.

"It was my fault!"

"No, mine!"

"No. Mine!"

"It was mine!"

"I should be the one apologizing!"

"No, it should be me!"

At this point Tia realized exactly just how close they were to each other; she also realized how much Rocket had grown during the years she was gone. He exceeded her own height by over a foot, whereas back when they were younger he was the same height, if not shorter, than herself.

Then it also happened to click in Tia's brain that he was wearing a short-sleeved top with the first three or so buttons undone, so not only could she see his well-developed arms, she also had a very nice view of his chest which, from what she could see, was nicely toned and firm. Tia swallowed hard and felt her face beginning to heat up "fine then" she muttered childishly yet hastily as she quickly turned away from him so he could not see her quickly reddening cheeks. Rocket took another step forward so that he was now practically chest to chest with her "Tia?" He asked in confusion "Tia? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine..." Tia mumbled in embarrassment as her cheeks grew redder and redder due to the now very steamy, and from her point of view very wrong, thoughts that had begun to parade through her mind, stimulated by what she had just seen. Rocket placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around "are you sure? Because you don't- hey, why is your face so red?" Tia blushed even more "N-n-no reason..." She stuttered nervously, frantically trying to avoid his questioning gaze.

Rocket still remained completely confused as he watched his childhood friend fidgeting and constantly avoiding eye-contact "look" he said "you're obviously not feeling alright at the moment, maybe I should come back tomorrow..."

Tia froze "No! No, it's fine! I'm fine, really!" she exclaimed, but Rocket didn't seem convinced as he was looking at her with a genuinely concerned look on his face "really?" He asked "then why are you getting so jumpy?"

Tia swallowed and hurriedly scanned her brain for an excuse "because..." she thought harder "because...oh! Because I'm worried about my parents catching you here! Yeah, that's about right...They haven't any idea you exist, and I don't think they'd be very happy to find their only daughter talking to a supposedly complete stranger..." She looked up at him and was relieved that he had appeared to have accepted her response.

"Ah I see..." Rocket replied, scratching his head thoughtfully "I see where you're coming from...maybe we could go back t the cave and talk there?"

Tia shook her head "sorry, not now I'm afraid; it's getting late and I don't think my parents would be happy about me leaving the house at this hour, even if I am old enough to take care of myself!" She rolled her eyes in annoyance "I swear, they treat me like I'm still a little girl!"

"Well, you certainly don't look like a little girl to me anymore!" Rocket announced after looking her up and down. Tia turned to him, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks "what do you mean by that?" She asked curiously, Rocket smiled "isn't it obvious? You're far taller that you were before, and you face is far more mature-looking."

Tia sighed in disappointment; that was not the reply she'd been hoping for at all! She shook her head "well, thanks..." she replied, looking up at Rocket with a smile on her face "It's great that _somebody_ finally noticed I'd grown up."

Rocket grinned back at her, then the grin dropped from his face and he looked deep into her eyes "on a serious note though, am I forgiven for what I said to you?"

Tia smiled lightly "am I forgiven for leaving you?" Rocket smiled again "yes, yes you are"

"In that case, you are forgiven too" Ti replied, her mouth stretching into a genuine smile to which Rocket returned enthusiastically.

"Awww great!" Rocket exclaimed "I was so worried that I'd lost you, what with you being my only friend and all..." He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned nervously at her. Tia couldn't help but roll her eyes, what a typical Rocket thing to do!

"Tia? Are you coming back inside yet?" Her mother's voice sounded from inside the house.

The pair froze; Tia stared wide-eyed at Rocket before replying "yeah, just give me a few more minutes!" She quickly leant towards Rocket and lowered her voice "I think it's best that you leave now, my parents would kill me if they found out about us."

Rocket nodded "Ok, but we'll meet up tomorrow right? The same place as before?"

"Yeah, of course!" Tia replied smiling widely "I'll see you tomorrow!" Rocket grinned, and then did something totally unexpected: he leant over and gently kissed Tia on the cheek "Goodbye Tia!" He whispered, then hurried down the porch steps and across the road into the field beyond.

Tia stood stock still in shock, her face going even redder than before. Then, she gently reached up a hand and touched the spot on her cheek where Rocket had kissed her "Goodbye...Rocket" She whispered, smiling widely.

**So, what do you think? Did you enjoy it? If you did or didn't please review, I enjoy finding out what you guys think of my stories! :D**


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